Category: What’s for Dinner

When I was a little girl, my Aunt Mikki came to visit us all the way from Japan. I wasn’t sure where exactly Japan was, but I knew it was far, far away. While Aunt Mikki was with us, she prepared Chicken Chow Mein for our family. The whole process included a trip to the market for fresh ingredients and a lot of chopping. I have loved Chicken Chow Mein since that day. I cook it often for my own family. It’s one of those dishes everyone around the table stops talking and just eats. My Auntie’s version included crispy fried noodles. I now make it with regular boiled noodles and sprinkle some wonton strips or sliced green onions to add some crunch. I also use cabbage in place of bean sprouts because it is more easily available, but you can certainly use bean sprouts if you desire.

“Ponder well on this point: the pleasant hours of our life are all connected by a more or less tangible link, with some memory of the table.”

Charles Pierre Monselet (1825-1888)

Weight Watcher friends: 7 Smart Points. If you use edamame spaghetti you can take it down another point. It has 24 grams of protein and only .5 grams of fat and 3 sugars. It has 4 Smart Points for a 2-ounce serving. I used the Seaport Farms brand.

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Need something satisfying and easy for a weeknight supper. This will do the trick. I have made this for years, and it always pleases. It is a great dish to serve to company, take to a party, or share with a friend who is need of a meal. I have included the changes to make it Weight Watcher friendly.

*Weight Watchers on Freestyle: I make my own Italian sausage by adding Italian sausage seasonings to ground chicken breast. See recipe here. I add 1 pound of it to this recipe to increase the protein and flavor. If you use this method, your lasagna will be 8 Smart Points. If making your own sausage seems like too much I would suggest using ½ pound turkey Italian sausage for 2 extra Smart Points per serving. It would also be quite tasty without the sausage if you prefer. Enjoy!

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I have a new gadget in my kitchen. Well, maybe not exactly new. I purchased a counter top pressure cooker last year, and I stared at it quite a while before I actually put it to use. The delay probably resulted from my upbringing as a child. I was well-versed in the dangers of pressure cookers as a child. I remember wondering each time my mom would use it whether it would result in an explosion. Lol!

Today’s cookers are much safer and easier to use. Once I used mine, I realized what a wonderful gadget it is. I have only made a couple of things so far, but I can already see what a benefit they are. Meat can go from freezer to finished in no time. And those same meals you cook in the crock pot for hours, can be done in thirty minutes.

Here’s what I tried last night.

Balsamic Apple Pork Tenderloin
4 servings

Ingredients

1 tablespoon cooking oil

1.5 pounds pork tenderloin

1 small onion

2 cloves of garlic, crushed

2 ½ tablespoons balsamic vinegar

½ cup apple juice or chicken broth

1 apple, chopped

½ teaspoon salt

1 sprig rosemary

2 springs thyme

To finish

1 tablespoon butter

2 ½ teaspoons cornstarch

Instructions

Turn on sauté function and heat. When hot, add oil.

Brown tenderloin on all sides. Approx. 2 minutes per side. Remove tenderloin to plate. Set aside.

Add onion to pot and cook until tender, stirring frequently.

Add garlic. Stir.

Add balsamic vinegar. Stir.

Add juice/broth, apple, salt, rosemary, and thyme. Stir well.

Add tenderloin, nestling in the mixture. Cancel sauté function. Place lid on cooker and lock. Close steam release vent. Press cook. Adjust time to 10 minutes. Longer if meat is frozen: 15 minutes. When cycle finishes, let pot rest in the warm function for 15 minutes.

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I don’t know if Taco Tuesday is a thing other places across the country, but here in SoCal it’s pretty popular. So, instead of heading out to the local taco place, I thought I would just create some at home.

So glad I did.

I tried a new recipe for a Mexican chicken marinade and was it good. Even though the recipe called for fresh lemon juice, I used the “from concentrate” I had in the fridge. It turned out fine, plus made it effortlessness to prepare. The grilled chicken that is the result is pretty delicious. You don’t wait until Tuesday to try it. Any day could use a little extra yumminess. And don’t forget to invite your friends. They’ll thank you.

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I don’t always know in the morning what I’ll be in the mood for at the end of the day. Sometimes, I just opt for throwing some meat along with a little broth and salt and pepper into the crockpot and wait for inspiration to come. That is how this recipe came about. I started a small roast cooking and then did some investigation into my options. Originally, I thought maybe green chili pork, but it got pushed aside for this recipe. It’s still pork and chilis but taken up a notch with the smoky flavor of chipotles.

This isn’t quite as easy as coming home to a fully cooked crockpot meal, but with fifteen minutes of prep and thirty minutes of simmer time, you can have something pretty yummy on the table. Just add some cornbread, tortilla chips, or crusty garlic bread for a hearty and satisfying dinner.

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Hospitality is key in making the world a better place. Let’s face it. Who doesn’t love a gathering that includes good food shared with family and friends. Memories are created and friendships increased when we come together. So, drop on in and stay awhile. Wait 'til you see what's cookin'. ~Patty Schell

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